The present invention relates to a system and method for transporting data between dissimilar communications media. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for transporting data between dissimilar analog radio devices over a computer network.
Wireless data communication techniques and systems have been generally available for many years. Implementations exist which employ microwave communication systems and/or radio-frequency (RF) communication systems. Amplitude-modulated (AM) radio communications and frequency-modulated (FM) radio communications are examples of RF implementations. FM communication techniques include both conventional point-to-point radio and trunked radio that are utilized for transporting data.
Generally, the wireless RF implementations have an incompatibility with both each other and other standard wired networks. That is, FM communication devices and AM communication devices cannot communicate directly with one another, nor can RF communication devices communicate directly with microwave devices. Moreover, each wireless RF implementation has its own data communications protocol for interacting with other RF devices and another, possibly different protocol for interacting with wired networks.
In the past, telecommunications systems have been developed which provide distributed processing for voice and data transmitted by a variety of telecommunications devices. The systems, however, generally must employ identical, or at least compatible telecommunications devices in order to provide many of their telecommunications services. The systems are therefore not fully integrated telecommunications systems. An additional drawback associated with many existing telecommunications systems relates to the lack of modularity of the hardware and software components in the system, making changes in subscriber services and in the number of ports supported by the system uneconomical.
In the last few years, the Internet has evolved into the largest and most agile computer communication network in the world. It permits a vast assortment of geographically dispersed computers, printers, fax machines, etc. to communicate together using a single interface protocol. Internet users can now share information and computing power with any other Internet user by simply logging onto the network. The obvious advantages of the communication capabilities provided by the Internet has thus far not expanded to include radio voice communication devices.
There is a need therefore for an improved apparatus and method for providing wireless or wireline communication among dissimilar radio voice communication devices that provides the capability for any radio voice communication device to communicate with any other voice communication device over a wireless or wireline interface.
Systems and methods consistent with this invention enable communication between dissimilar radio voice communication devices across a wireless or wireline interface. A system consistent with the present invention comprises a voice over Internet protocol (voIP) terminal configured to communicate over a computer network. An analog radio transceiver is coupled to the voIP terminal which is further comprised of at least one microprocessor for providing master control to a data acquisition (DAQ) board to create a system that is fully integrated in terms of the interface capability it provides to end users. In operation, the voIP terminal receives analog data from its associated analog radio transceiver, converts the data into a format recognizable by the computer network, and transmits the data to a desired location on the network. It also receives digital data from the computer network and transmits it into a format recognizable by the attached analog voice transceiver. The voIP terminal further provides the capability to alter its communication protocols to adapt to a plurality of different computer network protocols and radio transceivers.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.